Horseback ride to the Kokkol mine -
Tourist routes in the Katon-Karagaysky Park and Reserve -
Kokkol is an abandoned tungsten mine, one of the attractions of the Katon-Karagaysky National Park, located at an altitude of 2655 meters above sea level in a beautiful place surrounded by mountain peaks. A mountain route along the Kokkol River leads to the mine, which can be covered on foot or on horseback, next to the mine is the high-mountain lake Kokkol. The mine operated in the 1940s, or more precisely from 1938 to 1954 and specialized in the extraction of quartz and tungsten, work at the mine began in 1938. Traveling to Belukha Peak, you will definitely see this mine on your way. Nearby were built 2 settlements "upper settlement" and "lower settlement", in these settlements lived the workers of this mountain mine. At the mine you can still see abandoned half-ruined houses, remains of mechanisms, there is even a truck, or rather what is left of it.
How to get there, visit -
The Kokkol mine is located high in the mountains of the Katon-Karagay National Park, on the border of Kazakhstan and Russia, East Kazakhstan region, Katon-Karagay district, Republic of Kazakhstan.
GPS coordinates: 49°42'53"N 86°46'05"E
History -
The Kokkol mine operated during the Great Patriotic War, at that time there was an urgent need to increase the production of tungsten and molybdenum, since without these metals it was impossible to make strong armor for tanks, aircraft and self-propelled guns. All even the smallest deposits were used. One of them was the Kok-Kol tungsten deposit under Mount Belukha. Mobilized youth worked there, mostly girls and boys. For a long time, there was a legend that prisoners of war worked at the Kokkol mine, but it was just a legend, this mine simply operated here during wartime.
The letter to the Chairman of the East Kazakhstan Regional Executive Committee and the Chairman of the Katon-Karagay District Executive Committee said: "A geological exploration party will work in the border zone of the Katon-Karagay District, 80 km north of the village of Berel, with the aim of exploring the Kok-Kol tungsten-molybdenum deposit. Considering that the Kok-Kul deposit is of all-Union significance, and that it is located in an extremely difficult-to-reach area and for 80 km has no road, only a pack trail, it is ordered to organize the transfer of about 200 tons of food, equipment, and gear to the deposit during the short summer period accessible for transport from June 1 to September 15, with the allocation of the necessary number of horses and camels."
Photogallery:
